Decorating a Rental

One of my best friends and clients Trisha has been living in a rental for over a year now. While the house is nice and neutral it doesn’t showcase Trisha’s amazing style and taste. So she asked for my help to spruce up her Living Room. 
This is an idea of what we started with. Trisha already had all the main pieces for the room but we wanted to add some pillows and recover her ottoman. Because she’s renting we couldn’t hang anything on the walls including art or window treatments. When she leaves this house she will have to pay for every single hole she puts in the wall. I convinced her that with pillows and accessories we could add a lot to the space! 
I put together a fabric scheme for her jumping off from the amazing ottoman we recovered. The blue trellis pillow was made from Kravet Riad in Indigo. All the pillows were sew by Erin from Plush Studio

The ottoman fabric is G.P. & J. Baker Hydrangea Bird in Natural and was reupholstered by Rocky Mountain Upholstery

We wanted the room to have a color scheme of pink, blue and seafoam.  The pink pillow was made from Fabricut Definitely Maybe in Raspberry. The blue dot pillow is from Land’s End but is no longer available. 

We didn’t have a lot of space for accessories so we kept them minimal. Trisha bought this amazing rock in St. George Utah on a recent trip we took together. 
The media cabinet is from Home Decorators. It’s no longer available in white but you can get it for a great deal in espresso
The rug is from Dash & Albert
These amazing blue chairs are from Caitlin Creer. The ikat fabric is from Robert Allen

The lamp is the Arteriors Home Cooper Gold Iron Floor Lamp. It is amazing! 
For me the key with rentals is to not focus on what you can’t do and focus on what you can do instead. We can’t do overhead lighting so we brought in an amazing floor lamp. We can’t do anything about window treatments and art so we added fun prints and colors with the ottoman fabric and pillows. We can’t repaint the walls so we added color with pillows, furniture and the rug. 
I also told Trisha to remember that this rental is not her “forever house”. We wanted to buy things that she could easily transfer to her new home. That amazing lamp will look good anywhere forever so it was a great investment. Don’t buy crappy stuff just because you aren’t living in a permanent home. Think about buying things that you will love and have for a long time after your time in this rental is over. 

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78 Responses to Decorating a Rental

  1. Kelsey Foster Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 11:52 am #

    Loved this! I've always lived in a rental (or my parent's house…) and always struggle with investing money on what may or may not work in the next place and often skip on investing on quality items. Thanks for the inspiration!

  2. BaileyWife Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 12:24 pm #

    3M Command Strips hang ANYTHING and no holes or damage to walls whatsoever! That is how we hang everything in my daughter's dorm room and even some gallery walls around home. You can even hang curtains!! No pics, artwork, or curtains would give me an anxiety attack!;) ~ Kim

    • BaileyWife Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 12:26 pm #

      That came off as rude, not intended! I love your design, and her furniture pieces are amazing!!!! ~Kim

    • Kirsten Krason Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 2:18 pm #

      Lol. I recommended using Command strips but when it came down to it we didn't want to spend the money on custom curtains that wouldn't work in her new home. But those command strips are amazing! I love them for gallery walls too.

    • Rebecca Williamson Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 4:41 pm #

      You can also use spring rods for the curtains, if your windows are deep enough. That's what I do in my rental. I love natural light, but the sun beats on my living room windows from noon to sundown and the heat is too much (in Texas). I just bought plain curtains from Target that complimented my color scheme and hung them on spring rods.

      And those command strips are all I used for all my wall hangings-mirror in bedroom, wall clock, etc.

  3. Laura at Simply Lowcountry Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 12:50 pm #

    I'm so glad that you posted this! My husband and I are getting ready to move into our new place, but it's a rental. I feel like EVERYONE has a hard time making a rental their own space. You've given me some great ideas. I am also obsessing over that striped rug. It's gorgeous.

    xo
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  4. Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 1:52 pm #

    I love what you did! All of that color and pattern would make me so happy it would certainly take my mind off what I 'couldn't' do.

  5. Jennifer Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 2:17 pm #

    I second the recommendation for command strips/hooks. They really are amazing and leave no damage. I used them in my dorm in college, and my husband and I use them in our rental now. They even make some that can hold a lot of weight, so there are no excuses to have empty walls 😉

  6. Jennifer Menteer Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 2:38 pm #

    This is AMAZING. I actually had to scroll back up and double-check that there was really nothing on the walls 😀 You don't even really notice with all the pattern awesomeness 😀

  7. Amy Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 2:59 pm #

    Where did you find the G.P. & J. Baker Hydrangea Bird in Natural in that color? I can't find it anywhere? Love this room and the color combinations, its provided me with much needed inspiration for our living room!

  8. gracious farmhouse Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 3:14 pm #

    Love the lamp!! And great advice about investing in nice pieces that stand the test of time!! Alayne

  9. Lisa McKell Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 4:53 pm #

    Such a cute space. I want that ottoman fabric in an accent pillow!

  10. Christina Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 5:57 pm #

    LOVE the clean lines of the furniture and the bright colors you brought in – gorgeous!!

  11. michelle Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 7:22 pm #

    where i live now is a rental. i have made SO many holes in the walls. :/ i love her sofa and chairs!

  12. Sam [The Peak of Tres Chic] Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 7:51 pm #

    I am loving that console and the ottoman ! Great job on taking the room to the "next level"!

  13. ashley rachelle Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 7:55 pm #

    love all of the fabrics you chose! i totally agree that the command strips and hooks are the way to go! and they are reusable too, so they are worth the investment. plus, you could use the hooks to hang inexpensive, gauzy/lightweight panels on either side of the window to help frame it. rentals can be tricky but i think you did a lovely job!

  14. Missy Rinfret Minicucci Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 10:10 pm #

    absolutely love!

  15. Jennifer@The Chronicles of Home Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 10:15 pm #

    Love how the patterns work together here. That ottoman fabric…what a gorgeous jumping off point for the rest of the room!

  16. Angela and Enrique Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 11:28 pm #

    I LOVE this Kirsten! Great color, love the lamp and the two chairs in blue are gorgeous!

  17. Abby Lawson Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 2:02 am #

    Great tips! We own our townhome but plan on renting it out in the near future. I almost feel like I'm renting from our future renters in that I want to keep it pretty neutral so we don't have to re-do everything when it's time to rent. These ideas are so helpful when thinking about how to spruce up a space without having to change everything when we move out! Hope you're having a great week, Kirsten!

    ~Abby =)

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    I love that sofa! Can you share where she got it?

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    Beautiful job Kirsten!

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